A few comments on UAPB

[ricko6543211]

Slow to start then we picked it up. Lagged in pieces but had a few solid runs. Especially coming out of halftime we locked down and started running away on offense.

Some reactions- though to be clear these are all over extrapolating from one game against poor competition so take with a bucket of salt.
1- About the offense - it started clicking and we made a lot of shots. Not complaining about what we did at all. But... a bit worried that our half court offense will struggle again. We got a few good shots against them in the halfcourt but some bad ones too - we were stagnant at times early on when they still had their defensive intensity up. We got great shots once we got moving in transition, but that will be tougher against B1G opponents: (1) they will be more disciplined getting back, (2) we won’t have the same athletic advantage in transition, (3) we prob won’t get as many stops on D which is what usually creates those run out opportunities. Not saying it’s a concern yet, just something to watch - not sure it’ll be fixed this year yet.

2- Audige looked like a legit player. Might be able to create his own shot some which we have been sorely missing. He and Kopp are a very solid pair of complementary wings. Both solid B1G players. Kopp looks even more confident in his shot this year btw - good.

3- Nance seems a bit improved. Hard to tell if that’s cause of the competition. He had some easy shots (nice touch) and the guys he was guarding couldn’t really test him. But he was using his body and hands a bit more smartly on defense I thought. Tbd when he plays tougher opponents.

4- Boo looked pretty good on offense but downright bad on defense. Not moving his feet. Better teams will make him / us pay for that.

5- Berry can certainly score but he’s raw. I thought he struggled a bit early then kind of ran up the (box) score later after UAPB stopped playing defense. Certainly has offensive talent but made some freshman mistakes. Also what was up with him stealing shots from the walkons at the end there!? Anyways, he’s talented but not surprised he’s got development to do. He might be the old Isiah Brown “offense off the bench” role for this season (before expanding the role next year).

6- I thought Beran looked a bit smarter on the defense end of the floor. And stronger. Not much different on offense - kind of a role player that waits for others to set him up. Not sure what his role will be though. I guess that will be determined as season progresses. Nance Robbie Young splitting the time at the 4&5 I guess?

7- Gaines another guy it’s not clear what his role will be this season. Audige and Kopp may have passed him on the depth chart. I guess we could play him at 2 and them at 3-4, but he seems a bit between. If it’s a 3 man rotation for 2 slots, he might be 3rd of 3. Audige is a good defender too.

8- Greer played really solid. Set up the offense well, kept the ball moving, played good defense. He’s not a game changer but he does his job very solidly. 8 assists, nice work. He’s most likely our backup PG this year, but we will prob need him at times with Boo (and prob Berry) go off the deep end.

Nice win. I don’t put much stock in it and like I said am going to be nervous about our half court offense. But we played well and did what were supposed to do. Great job cats.

Next up - another easy one against Chi St, then a tougher matchup with Pitt. We may be in for a rude awakening with MSU in a couple weeks...

 

[ThatadultfromHolland]

Lots of sloppy play in the first half and the talent difference showed that in that NU played that poorly and still lead. Dumb turnovers, poor defensive communication, not boxing out, etc. I imagine they got a good talking to at half cuz the fixed a lot of those errors.

Audige is a good player I’m glad he’s a sophomore. He started out playing tight almost nervous but fell into a groove before his cramp. My biggest worry for him is forcing his shot and trying to do much but we shall see it’s only one game against not the toughest opponent.

Nance will have his on and off games. If he has more on games we’ll have a real chance at winning some B1G games.

I wouldn’t judge Boo to harshly this game since he was sick. The offensive runs a lot better when he’s on the court.

Berry has a beautiful shot. He’s a real shooter. It will be interesting to see if he’s able to drive and get fouled like that against better opponents as well as how his D holds up.

Ya Beran is visibly stronger. He’ll be a good piece, needs to stay out foul trouble and play within himself and offense.

Gaines will be a great guy off the bench. Great defender with limited offensive ability but tons of experience and doesn’t force things. Be a nice steady hand to have on the court at the same time with the young guys.

I’m not super high on Greer but he’s a decent role player. Surprised me a couple times last year. He just isn’t quick enough imo.

I’ll be interested to see if young gets in the starting line up at all. He’s a good solid player.

Nicholson is probably down the line on the bench a bit given when he got in the game. Liked that assist. Really tough to judge bigs against competition like that.

 

[ricko6543211]

Lots of sloppy play in the first half and the talent difference showed that in that NU played that poorly and still lead. Dumb turnovers, poor defensive communication, not boxing out, etc. I imagine they got a good talking to at half cuz the fixed a lot of those errors.

Audige is a good player I’m glad he’s a sophomore. He started out playing tight almost nervous but fell into a groove before his cramp. My biggest worry for him is forcing his shot and trying to do much but we shall see it’s only one game against not the toughest opponent.

Nance will have his on and off games. If he has more on games we’ll have a real chance at winning some B1G games.

I wouldn’t judge Boo to harshly this game since he was sick. The offensive runs a lot better when he’s on the court.

Berry has a beautiful shot. He’s a real shooter. It will be interesting to see if he’s able to drive and get fouled like that against better opponents as well as how his D holds up.

Ya Beran is visibly stronger. He’ll be a good piece, needs to stay out foul trouble and play within himself and offense.

Gaines will be a great guy off the bench. Great defender with limited offensive ability but tons of experience and doesn’t force things. Be a nice steady hand to have on the court at the same time with the young guys.

I’m not super high on Greer but he’s a decent role player. Surprised me a couple times last year. He just isn’t quick enough imo.

I’ll be interested to see if young gets in the starting line up at all. He’s a good solid player.

Nicholson is probably down the line on the bench a bit given when he got in the game. Liked that assist. Really tough to judge bigs against competition like that.

I forgot about Boo being sick when I wrote that. Fair point. Good points on the rest, thanks. Agree Nicholson prob a year out. Weird to think of Gaines as a 6th man / / leader / bench role player but I think you might be right.

 

[TheC]

Yes, APB was a horrible, small team, but for what it's worth (EVERYTHING!!!!), Wisconsin only beat them 92-58. Of course, Wisky went out to something like a 25-0 run to start the game which (as I'm sure you all can easily imagine) had me screaming at my tv at the beginning of the game last night.

Some pros and cons from last night:

Pros
1. We had an offense! We never cracked 90 points last year and often times didn't crack 49 either. The beginning was rough, but once we warmed up, guys were making shots. We have multiple weapons this year which is really something after watching the past two seasons.

2. Kopp is a killer. Is it possible his shot looks even prettier this year? By my count, he only really forced one bad shot. The rest, he just let come to him in stride. A team is going to have to commit a defender whose only job is to stay with Kopp the whole night, which should open things up for others. Because if you give him an inch - money!!

3. The defense was outstanding, especially in the second half. Yes, that may not translate to a team with players over 6'3", but still, it was nice to see the intensity and intimidation. Nance is a real rim protector and we have so much length all over the floor. APB only shot 27% last night.

4. Berry is gonna' be good. He'll have his rough moments, but he has game. Two plays stand to me. One was his first collegiate basket where the team clearly ran a pick play to get him a shot. He came off the double high pick, caught the ball, curled to face the basket and swished the prettiest three pointer outside of Miller Kopp. It wasn't just a fluke because his other 3's were just as pretty. He can shoot. The second play, however, was something that Miller doesn't do as well.... he faked out to the three point line and then did a back cut to the lane where he was fed a perfect pass by Nicholson for the lay-up. If he can both hit the 3 and occasionally get to the basket to keep defenders honest... watch out!

Cons
1. This was all against APB who had absolutely no size. Our shots won't be so open in the BIG. We'll need to move better without the ball and create some open shots with penetration. Boo can penetrate, but doesn't always make the best decision when he does. Not sure yet about Berry or Kopp.

2. The interior offensive play from our bigs was still pretty atrocious. Nance should have been making layups in the paint all night against his tiny man. Yet, he seemed timid still. When he did get the ball down low, either on a post-up or a rebound, he kept committing the cardinal sin of bringing the ball down to where the smaller defenders could bother him. He needs to just keep it high and go right up - especially when mismatched with a smaller defender. As for Young... I really hope Nicholson can figure things out. Young has decent footwork at times, but he remains so slow when he gets the ball. I was hoping he'd be a little smoother this year, but last night was pretty ugly.

3. Starting slow seems to be a problem for this team and it hurt us a lot last year. We did it again last night. Of course, we corrected that in the second half, but we need to find a way to come out of the gate faster as we go forward. This team seems to me to be very emotional. That can be good when things are going well, but we also seem to get down pretty easily. Maybe the guys have matured some since last year, but I worry about slow starts dooming the entire game.

 

[GatoLouco]

Kind of hard to conclude a whole lot against a team that loses by 40 against WI, Marquette or NU.

Unclear if any of last year's guys are that much better. Even Greer looks legit against APB.

What makes me salivate is Audige being as advertised: very athletic. It's nice to think we can have a player who can still create a decent shot when the shot clock is winding down.

Berry also makes me happy. Not as much because he hit some shots, but because his release seems quick enough to be relevant in the B1G.

Glad we did not have a Merrimack opener this season.

 

[7th Cir. Cat]

Slow to start then we picked it up. Lagged in pieces but had a few solid runs. Especially coming out of halftime we locked down and started running away on offense.

Some reactions- though to be clear these are all over extrapolating from one game against poor competition so take with a bucket of salt.
1- About the offense - it started clicking and we made a lot of shots. Not complaining about what we did at all. But... a bit worried that our half court offense will struggle again. We got a few good shots against them in the halfcourt but some bad ones too - we were stagnant at times early on when they still had their defensive intensity up. We got great shots once we got moving in transition, but that will be tougher against B1G opponents: (1) they will be more disciplined getting back, (2) we won’t have the same athletic advantage in transition, (3) we prob won’t get as many stops on D which is what usually creates those run out opportunities. Not saying it’s a concern yet, just something to watch - not sure it’ll be fixed this year yet.

2- Audige looked like a legit player. Might be able to create his own shot some which we have been sorely missing. He and Kopp are a very solid pair of complementary wings. Both solid B1G players. Kopp looks even more confident in his shot this year btw - good.

3- Nance seems a bit improved. Hard to tell if that’s cause of the competition. He had some easy shots (nice touch) and the guys he was guarding couldn’t really test him. But he was using his body and hands a bit more smartly on defense I thought. Tbd when he plays tougher opponents.

4- Boo looked pretty good on offense but downright bad on defense. Not moving his feet. Better teams will make him / us pay for that.

5- Berry can certainly score but he’s raw. I thought he struggled a bit early then kind of ran up the (box) score later after UAPB stopped playing defense. Certainly has offensive talent but made some freshman mistakes. Also what was up with him stealing shots from the walkons at the end there!? Anyways, he’s talented but not surprised he’s got development to do. He might be the old Isiah Brown “offense off the bench” role for this season (before expanding the role next year).

6- I thought Beran looked a bit smarter on the defense end of the floor. And stronger. Not much different on offense - kind of a role player that waits for others to set him up. Not sure what his role will be though. I guess that will be determined as season progresses. Nance Robbie Young splitting the time at the 4&5 I guess?

7- Gaines another guy it’s not clear what his role will be this season. Audige and Kopp may have passed him on the depth chart. I guess we could play him at 2 and them at 3-4, but he seems a bit between. If it’s a 3 man rotation for 2 slots, he might be 3rd of 3. Audige is a good defender too.

8- Greer played really solid. Set up the offense well, kept the ball moving, played good defense. He’s not a game changer but he does his job very solidly. 8 assists, nice work. He’s most likely our backup PG this year, but we will prob need him at times with Boo (and prob Berry) go off the deep end.

Nice win. I don’t put much stock in it and like I said am going to be nervous about our half court offense. But we played well and did what were supposed to do. Great job cats.

Next up - another easy one against Chi St, then a tougher matchup with Pitt. We may be in for a rude awakening with MSU in a couple weeks...

Excellent write-up. Thanks for taking the time.

 

[Jonny2TheP]

My very simplistic take is that it's one game against a lesser program that has yet to play in a game that they didn't lose by 17 or more points (in their defense, playing at Marquette, Wisconsin, Iowa State, and NU isn't exactly an easy way to start a season). What we showed is that we have many different players that can play at this level. I think we have many guys that can do different things. I expect Gaines to get more run in Big Ten games where his defense will be more valuable. There was not much reason to play a defensive minded senior in a game like this.

Hard to come to any conclusions from this game, but I like a lot of the pieces that we have. To me, the big keys to this year are improving on the defensive end of the floor and finding someone late in games that we can go to when you need the toughest baskets of the game. We aren't in the same league as teams like MSU, Illinois, and Iowa, but I don't see a big difference between our team and most of the rest of the conference. We can play with those teams- it's just finding a way to win games.

 

[CappyNU]

I was definitely concerned in the first half that we seemed to have shown zero improvement on offense from last year, though they definitely got into the swing of things later on in the game. I agree that you can't conclude much from this game, but a few things we can compare against the other 3 teams UAPB played:

Offense:

Team	Efficiency	eFG%	TO%	OR%	FTR	2pt%	3pt%
Marquette	129.6	60.7	18.3	41.2	76.8	63.3	38.5
Wisconsin	128.8	61.0	9.8	21.9	45.8	52.5	52.6
Iowa St	114.7	57.6	14.3	26.5	10.6	58.8	37.5
NU	124.1	62.9	14.8	26.5	37.1	54.5	48.3

Defense:

Team	Efficiency	eFG%	TO%	OR%	FTR	2pt%	3pt%
Marquette	74.6	29.6	20.9	35.3	39.4	32.6	15.0
Wisconsin	81.2	39.6	21.0	18.9	39.6	30.8	42.9
Iowa St	90.3	47.3	24.4	33.3	26.8	52.4	21.4
NU	66.1	28.6	13.5	10.9	46.4	32.5	12.5

Iowa State clearly did the worst against them, so compared against UW and MU, as you can see on offense, while we had the best shooting percentage against them, we had the worst efficiency.

On defense, we look much better, with the best efficiency, best eFG%, best rebounding rate, and best 3pt defense. Collins has never had his teams play to force TOs, though this number is lower than it should be against a team of this caliber, but aside from that, we generally gave them one shot per possession and they generally missed that shot. Definitely a great confidence-boosting start to the season.

Don't think we're gonna learn much from the next game either given that Illinois beat them by 59, though Chicago State does have a 7-footer.

 

[NUCat320]

I only saw the first half. Sounds like the second half was better.

 

[ricko6543211]

My very simplistic take is that it's one game against a lesser program that has yet to play in a game that they didn't lose by 17 or more points (in their defense, playing at Marquette, Wisconsin, Iowa State, and NU isn't exactly an easy way to start a season). What we showed is that we have many different players that can play at this level. I think we have many guys that can do different things. I expect Gaines to get more run in Big Ten games where his defense will be more valuable. There was not much reason to play a defensive minded senior in a game like this.

Hard to come to any conclusions from this game, but I like a lot of the pieces that we have. To me, the big keys to this year are improving on the defensive end of the floor and finding someone late in games that we can go to when you need the toughest baskets of the game. We aren't in the same league as teams like MSU, Illinois, and Iowa, but I don't see a big difference between our team and most of the rest of the conference. We can play with those teams- it's just finding a way to win games.

To be honest I am more worried about our offense than our defense. I think we do a decent job of help / team defense, and for the most part are okay at on ball defense. Our fouls get us into trouble too often due to not playing the right technique - that was again the case last night, though the refs also had a very tight whistle - I thought our D technique (use lower body not arms, and go straight up) was actually a bit improved from last year for some guys.

Anyways, I’m more worried about our ability to score in the B1G. There are going to be a lot of very good defenses that we play against. We have more depth of shooters it seems which is nice, will help space the floor, but there will be fewer open looks. Would help a lot if Audige can create his own shot from time to time, if Boo can improve A/T ratio when driving, if Nance can develop some low post moves, etc.

And this is in response to someone else, but sure Young looked slow and doesn’t jump and uses YMCA league moves - but those moves were actually functional to some extent last year in conference play. He’s not going to be a standout big man but I’m not worried about his ability to give us maybe 20 decent mins a game (and 5 fouls) in conference play. He also provides solid defense - his size helps against some bigs in this conference - and plays hard. Good role player.

 

[GatoLouco]

Isn't it amazing Young did not look great and yet his stat line was 10 pts on 4/5 shooting, and 7 rebounds? In 11 minutes of play?

I second, or third, being more concerned about offense. And I personally don't see the Nance at 5 in a small ball offense working very well. Really trying the ole square peg in a round hole. Most concerning to me is that I sense the kid feels miserable playing that role. Not a good recipe.

 

[hdhntr1]

Slow to start then we picked it up. Lagged in pieces but had a few solid runs. Especially coming out of halftime we locked down and started running away on offense.

Some reactions- though to be clear these are all over extrapolating from one game against poor competition so take with a bucket of salt.
1- About the offense - it started clicking and we made a lot of shots. Not complaining about what we did at all. But... a bit worried that our half court offense will struggle again. We got a few good shots against them in the halfcourt but some bad ones too - we were stagnant at times early on when they still had their defensive intensity up. We got great shots once we got moving in transition, but that will be tougher against B1G opponents: (1) they will be more disciplined getting back, (2) we won’t have the same athletic advantage in transition, (3) we prob won’t get as many stops on D which is what usually creates those run out opportunities. Not saying it’s a concern yet, just something to watch - not sure it’ll be fixed this year yet.

2- Audige looked like a legit player. Might be able to create his own shot some which we have been sorely missing. He and Kopp are a very solid pair of complementary wings. Both solid B1G players. Kopp looks even more confident in his shot this year btw - good.

3- Nance seems a bit improved. Hard to tell if that’s cause of the competition. He had some easy shots (nice touch) and the guys he was guarding couldn’t really test him. But he was using his body and hands a bit more smartly on defense I thought. Tbd when he plays tougher opponents.

4- Boo looked pretty good on offense but downright bad on defense. Not moving his feet. Better teams will make him / us pay for that.

5- Berry can certainly score but he’s raw. I thought he struggled a bit early then kind of ran up the (box) score later after UAPB stopped playing defense. Certainly has offensive talent but made some freshman mistakes. Also what was up with him stealing shots from the walkons at the end there!? Anyways, he’s talented but not surprised he’s got development to do. He might be the old Isiah Brown “offense off the bench” role for this season (before expanding the role next year).

6- I thought Beran looked a bit smarter on the defense end of the floor. And stronger. Not much different on offense - kind of a role player that waits for others to set him up. Not sure what his role will be though. I guess that will be determined as season progresses. Nance Robbie Young splitting the time at the 4&5 I guess?

7- Gaines another guy it’s not clear what his role will be this season. Audige and Kopp may have passed him on the depth chart. I guess we could play him at 2 and them at 3-4, but he seems a bit between. If it’s a 3 man rotation for 2 slots, he might be 3rd of 3. Audige is a good defender too.

8- Greer played really solid. Set up the offense well, kept the ball moving, played good defense. He’s not a game changer but he does his job very solidly. 8 assists, nice work. He’s most likely our backup PG this year, but we will prob need him at times with Boo (and prob Berry) go off the deep end.

Nice win. I don’t put much stock in it and like I said am going to be nervous about our half court offense. But we played well and did what were supposed to do. Great job cats.

Next up - another easy one against Chi St, then a tougher matchup with Pitt. We may be in for a rude awakening with MSU in a couple weeks...

Little concerned that we settled so much for the three. Almost half our points. Live by the three die by it. Ain't going to shoot 50% that often against the Ds we will be up against Yes they were smaller and quicker than many lineups we will face and playing a lot of zone. Shooting over it finally opened things up but we have to have more of an inside game. Our points were basically from 3 and on fast breaks and again it is unlikely that we will shoot 50% from three or get as many live ball TOs

 

[clarificationcat]

Isn't it amazing Young did not look great and yet his stat line was 10 pts on 4/5 shooting, and 7 rebounds? In 11 minutes of play?

I second, or third, being more concerned about offense. And I personally don't see the Nance at 5 in a small ball offense working very well. Really trying the ole square peg in a round hole. Most concerning to me is that I sense the kid feels miserable playing that role. Not a good recipe.

It depends on the opponent and whether he can defend the other 5. It certainly would open up the lane if he can draw the other 5 out to the perimeter. He has a nice stroke from 15-18 feet but I would love to see him dominate smaller players around the basket on switches and get some put backs. I was really hoping for more improvement from him on the interior. He still does not look comfortable around the basket. He and Beran need to take advantage of their length more than they have to date.

 

[hdhntr1]

Slow to start then we picked it up. Lagged in pieces but had a few solid runs. Especially coming out of halftime we locked down and started running away on offense.

Some reactions- though to be clear these are all over extrapolating from one game against poor competition so take with a bucket of salt.
1- About the offense - it started clicking and we made a lot of shots. Not complaining about what we did at all. But... a bit worried that our half court offense will struggle again. We got a few good shots against them in the halfcourt but some bad ones too - we were stagnant at times early on when they still had their defensive intensity up. We got great shots once we got moving in transition, but that will be tougher against B1G opponents: (1) they will be more disciplined getting back, (2) we won’t have the same athletic advantage in transition, (3) we prob won’t get as many stops on D which is what usually creates those run out opportunities. Not saying it’s a concern yet, just something to watch - not sure it’ll be fixed this year yet.

2- Audige looked like a legit player. Might be able to create his own shot some which we have been sorely missing. He and Kopp are a very solid pair of complementary wings. Both solid B1G players. Kopp looks even more confident in his shot this year btw - good.

3- Nance seems a bit improved. Hard to tell if that’s cause of the competition. He had some easy shots (nice touch) and the guys he was guarding couldn’t really test him. But he was using his body and hands a bit more smartly on defense I thought. Tbd when he plays tougher opponents.

4- Boo looked pretty good on offense but downright bad on defense. Not moving his feet. Better teams will make him / us pay for that.

5- Berry can certainly score but he’s raw. I thought he struggled a bit early then kind of ran up the (box) score later after UAPB stopped playing defense. Certainly has offensive talent but made some freshman mistakes. Also what was up with him stealing shots from the walkons at the end there!? Anyways, he’s talented but not surprised he’s got development to do. He might be the old Isiah Brown “offense off the bench” role for this season (before expanding the role next year).

6- I thought Beran looked a bit smarter on the defense end of the floor. And stronger. Not much different on offense - kind of a role player that waits for others to set him up. Not sure what his role will be though. I guess that will be determined as season progresses. Nance Robbie Young splitting the time at the 4&5 I guess?

7- Gaines another guy it’s not clear what his role will be this season. Audige and Kopp may have passed him on the depth chart. I guess we could play him at 2 and them at 3-4, but he seems a bit between. If it’s a 3 man rotation for 2 slots, he might be 3rd of 3. Audige is a good defender too.

8- Greer played really solid. Set up the offense well, kept the ball moving, played good defense. He’s not a game changer but he does his job very solidly. 8 assists, nice work. He’s most likely our backup PG this year, but we will prob need him at times with Boo (and prob Berry) go off the deep end.

Nice win. I don’t put much stock in it and like I said am going to be nervous about our half court offense. But we played well and did what were supposed to do. Great job cats.

Next up - another easy one against Chi St, then a tougher matchup with Pitt. We may be in for a rude awakening with MSU in a couple weeks...

Greer did have a quiet but solid game. Only took one shot but 8 assists and it could have been more

 

[Catreporter]

I don't know if starting slow was such a problem last year. For example, we led Maryland by 16 at half and still lost (by double digits?). We seemed to be unable to finish games well. More depth of scoring would really help. Liked what I saw in the second half, and Greer's strong play was a nice surprise. I'm worried about injuries going forward with only a ten man roster though.

 

[hdhntr1]

I don't know if starting slow was such a problem last year. For example, we led Maryland by 16 at half and still lost (by double digits?). We seemed to be unable to finish games well. More depth of scoring would really help. Liked what I saw in the second half, and Greer's strong play was a nice surprise. I'm worried about injuries going forward with only a ten man roster though.

Maybe but it is more a 10 man roster that all have the skills to play and depth at each position. (Maybe they try to buy Nichols a RS as 5s take longer to develop) It would appear much better overall than last year

 

[hdhntr1]

I don't know if starting slow was such a problem last year. For example, we led Maryland by 16 at half and still lost (by double digits?). We seemed to be unable to finish games well. More depth of scoring would really help. Liked what I saw in the second half, and Greer's strong play was a nice surprise. I'm worried about injuries going forward with only a ten man roster though.

It was a problem often enough

 

[ThatadultfromHolland]

Maybe but it is more a 10 man roster that all have the skills to play and depth at each position. (Maybe they try to buy Nichols a RS as 5s take longer to develop) It would appear much better overall than last year

This is a pretty early take after one game. I’m basing this solely off of when he got in the game, not on his play. Nicholson probably redshirts if this year counts towards eligibility.

edit to say I’m aware it doesn’t count rn. I’m saying if it had.

 

[macarthur31]

Defense:

Team	Efficiency	eFG%	TO%	OR%	FTR	2pt%	3pt%
Marquette	74.6	29.6	20.9	35.3	39.4	32.6	15.0
Wisconsin	81.2	39.6	21.0	18.9	39.6	30.8	42.9
Iowa St	90.3	47.3	24.4	33.3	26.8	52.4	21.4
NU	66.1	28.6	13.5	10.9	46.4	32.5	12.5

Nice work on putting this together, Cappy! As I've looked at NU's kenpom numbers, CC's teams have been solid defensively. While last year was our worst defensive efficiency, we're actually mid-table B1G in that stat during the CC era (and as high as 4th during the tourney year). Our formula has not been based on forcing TOs, but rather using our length and mobility limiting oppo 3pt% and have higher block rates, while just being good enough to protect our glass. (And oddly enough, oppo FT% has been poor - though I don't know how to defend the charity stripe outside of not putting guys there in the first place).

Again, small sample size - but it looks like this bears out - even as poor UAPB is, we didn't really force TOs, and they had a high FTA/FGA rate. (Again for the latter, that is also a feature of CC's teams - even in the tourney year, we rated 12th in B1G.)

This is gonna be the formula this year - can the 'Cats defend well enough to keep it close, and can find more pathways to points. For example, Cats have traditionally been awful at FTA/FGA rate (12-14th in B1G), but they actually shoot it pretty good from the stripe (aside from last year, have gone 4th/4th/3rd in B1G from '17-'19). Could better outside shooting open up driving lanes for Buie/Gaines/Audige to draw fouls? Also - given we don't force TOs for easy transition buckets, open shots are gonna be hard to come by. Opponents will give up open midrange jumpers as that's not an efficient shot, but perhaps if we make enough of 'em that'll keep us afloat?

Ultimately, to be effective at defense, we'll need high commitment and depth. The first one is coachable, the second one is luck to avoid injuries. We can put out a defense that could fetch/will 5 B1G wins; can the offense find enough change in the couch to steal 2-3 more?

 

[lunker35]

This is a pretty early take after one game. I’m basing this solely off of when he got in the game, not on his play. Nicholson probably redshirts if this year counts towards eligibility.

This year does not count towards eligibility.

 

[hdhntr1]

This is a pretty early take after one game. I’m basing this solely off of when he got in the game, not on his play. Nicholson probably redshirts if this year counts towards eligibility.

I am just comparing this years team to last years. I see key parts being stronger than last year (Nance Berran, Booie and even Greer) I see better depth at point and two with the return of Gains and addition of Berry etc and Audrige. I see Young being Young and likely even a little more solid. Last year the only thing that really saved it was the addition of Spencer. This year I just see more solid at diffeerent positions. That said, with the strength of the BIG likely being even stronger, it is going to be tough regardless of NU being better overall than we were and we will miss Spencer..

 

[Jonny2TheP]

I don't know if starting slow was such a problem last year. For example, we led Maryland by 16 at half and still lost (by double digits?). We seemed to be unable to finish games well. More depth of scoring would really help. Liked what I saw in the second half, and Greer's strong play was a nice surprise. I'm worried about injuries going forward with only a ten man roster though.

I don't worry much about going ten deep. We have a quality ten man rotation. If we only had seven quality guys in that, I'd be much more worried. If we have 3 or 4 injuries at the same time, yes, we'll have an issue, but I think the vast majority of teams would have an issue in that circumstance. I'm excited about our quality depth- it's actually the best I can remember going ten deep.

 

[Alan Smithee_rivals156293]

This is a pretty early take after one game. I’m basing this solely off of when he got in the game, not on his play. Nicholson probably redshirts if this year counts towards eligibility.

It doesn’t.

 

[Titanium999]

Excellent write-up. Thanks for taking the time.

I thought Greer Nance and Kopp looked much improved and much stronger this year!

 

[Hungry Jack]

2. Kopp is a killer. Is it possible his shot looks even prettier this year? By my count, he only really forced one bad shot. The rest, he just let come to him in stride. A team is going to have to commit a defender whose only job is to stay with Kopp the whole night, which should open things up for others. Because if you give him an inch - money!!

Are you saying we have a Kopp Killer?

If Audige is the shot creator that reports suggest he is, then having a catch and shoot Kopp assassin sounds good to me.

 

[TheC]

Are you saying we have a Kopp Killer?

Perhaps, though you could also say we have a Killer Kopp. Either way, someone is going to misinterpret it and get pissed off.

 

[torque-cat]

Isn't it amazing Young did not look great and yet his stat line was 10 pts on 4/5 shooting, and 7 rebounds? In 11 minutes of play?

I second, or third, being more concerned about offense. And I personally don't see the Nance at 5 in a small ball offense working very well. Really trying the ole square peg in a round hole. Most concerning to me is that I sense the kid feels miserable playing that role. Not a good recipe.

If you pay attention mostly to Young's athleticism rather than his effectiveness you underestimate him. He is much more effective in the post than Nance and he is an efficient, instinctive scorer with good footwork. Nance unfortunately still doesn't know what to do with his physical gifts. If he had Young's footwork and post moves he would be all big ten.

 

[clarificationcat]

If you pay attention mostly to Young's athleticism rather than his effectiveness you underestimate him. He is much more effective in the post than Nance and he is an efficient, instinctive scorer with good footwork. Nance unfortunately still doesn't know what to do with his physical gifts. If he had Young's footwork and post moves he would be all big ten.

Nance is not a particularly explosive athlete either (which is interesting given his Dad and brother). Compared to Young, yes, but not to the rest of the B1G. Nance has great length and decent quickness for his size. I don't think he needs to be a back to the basket player like Young to be really effective, though. He definitely needs to learn to score around the basket when being guarded by smaller players and to finish strong on his drives and offensive rebounds. If he can improve those two things I think he can play on the perimeter and in pick and roll and be very effective. He's already an excellent passer and a good shooter from 15-18 feet.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

Agree, Young is a pretty good player that gets underestimated because of his YMCA moves.

 

[catcrazy]

He is joining the village people once his career wraps up